Metal thread IX: Metal To The Pedal To The Other Metal

[Narmoth]

So new Kamelot is out. It's very... Kamelot. Not really much more to say about that.

I have been a bit on the fence with the last Kamelot albums. However, the track made me thing that I'll buy their album after all. I'd rather have a darker Kamelot than a more power-metal Kamelot. Then again, I like their 2nd album the most, and it sounds nothing like newer Kamelot

[thorgrim29]

World: "You can't make a metal album about bees, that's just silly"
Amorphis: "Hold my beer mead"

So yeah, new Amorphis album out in about a month, and they released the first song 2 weeks ago, not sure if you guys noticed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf_4uvymwRw

[grimbold]

World: "You can't make a metal album about bees, that's just silly"
Amorphis: "Hold my beer mead"

So yeah, new Amorphis album out in about a month, and they released the first song 2 weeks ago, not sure if you guys noticed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf_4uvymwRw

so the entire album is about bees?

what?

[thorgrim29]

I mean the art is full of honeycombs and bees and skulls and the first song released is called The Bee so I suppose? They base all of their stuff on Finnish oral myths and cosmic bees with magic honey are apparently involved in ressurection rituals in there (I have got to get my hands on a copy of the Kalevala, sounds trippy).

[grimbold]

I mean the art is full of honeycombs and bees and skulls and the first song released is called The Bee so I suppose? They base all of their stuff on Finnish oral myths and cosmic bees with magic honey are apparently involved in ressurection rituals in there (I have got to get my hands on a copy of the Kalevala, sounds trippy).

Well that's... unexpected.

[8BitNinja]

I've got good news and I've got good news

The good news is that Judas Priest is coming out with a new album sometime this year.

The other good news is that DragonForce is remastering The Power Within.

That's all I have to say

[GimpNugs]

So, the new Kamelot album got me thinking about something, and I'd like y'all's opinion on it, if possible.
As Feytalist said, the new Kamelot album is very Kamelot. I can only describe it as more of the same, but not quite. Still, I'm a pretty big fan of Kamelot, so I bought it anyways.
My question is, are there any bands you like but don't buy or even really listen to new albums from because it all just sounds like more of the same to you? My list of bands I like but don't buy albums from for this reason includes Dragonforce (the patron saints of more of the same, in my opinion), Serenity, and Amon Amarth, among others I can't think of right now.
Disclaimer: if you can listen to Dragonforce albums without thinking they're all the same. or spin new Amon Amarth albums without wanting to listen to their older songs you already know by heart, I'm legitimately jealous of you. I love those bands, but i just can't get past that nagging sense it's all just more of the same.

[razorback]

That's funny, as I started reading this as I was listening to Versus the World and Runes to My Memory came on while typing.
I don't have an issue with the newer stuff sounding like the old stuff in general. I tend to have my headphones on at my desk and it's more background music to drown out everything else. After a while it kind of seeps in. Unless I actively dislike a song, I won't skip over things, and even then I'll tend to listen to new albums all the way through a few times before making a judgement. If I really dislike a song (Escape from Metallica comes to mind) and it just grates on my nerves, I just delete it off my phone and that's that.

[Vinyadan]

So, the new Kamelot album got me thinking about something, and I'd like y'all's opinion on it, if possible.
As Feytalist said, the new Kamelot album is very Kamelot. I can only describe it as more of the same, but not quite. Still, I'm a pretty big fan of Kamelot, so I bought it anyways.
My question is, are there any bands you like but don't buy or even really listen to new albums from because it all just sounds like more of the same to you? My list of bands I like but don't buy albums from for this reason includes Dragonforce (the patron saints of more of the same, in my opinion), Serenity, and Amon Amarth, among others I can't think of right now.
Disclaimer: if you can listen to Dragonforce albums without thinking they're all the same. or spin new Amon Amarth albums without wanting to listen to their older songs you already know by heart, I'm legitimately jealous of you. I love those bands, but i just can't get past that nagging sense it's all just more of the same.

Maybe Within Temptation? I haven't tried to listen to more of their stuff in the last ten years, because it felt to me like it all sounded the same.

Fun fact about bees: when he was the most powerful man on Earth, Napoleon chose the bee as his personal symbol.

[grimbold]

So, the new Kamelot album got me thinking about something, and I'd like y'all's opinion on it, if possible.
As Feytalist said, the new Kamelot album is very Kamelot. I can only describe it as more of the same, but not quite. Still, I'm a pretty big fan of Kamelot, so I bought it anyways.
My question is, are there any bands you like but don't buy or even really listen to new albums from because it all just sounds like more of the same to you? My list of bands I like but don't buy albums from for this reason includes Dragonforce (the patron saints of more of the same, in my opinion), Serenity, and Amon Amarth, among others I can't think of right now.
Disclaimer: if you can listen to Dragonforce albums without thinking they're all the same. or spin new Amon Amarth albums without wanting to listen to their older songs you already know by heart, I'm legitimately jealous of you. I love those bands, but i just can't get past that nagging sense it's all just more of the same.

I've thought about this a lot. Sometimes a band is willing to take a leap, like Amon Amarth when they did the concept album. for other bands - it's worth it if there's just one song that's fun and I can come back too. For example - on the new Dragonforce they are definitely doing what they always do. BUT that song Judgement Day from their new record is REALLY fun and I like finding stuff like that. I don't know if that means I should only listen to Dragonforce singles from now on, but it's certainly a blast. Listening to new records from bands that do the same **** again and again can be an exercise in futility, but if their schtick is good enough, why not?

[Lord of Gifts]

The good news is that Judas Priest is coming out with a new album sometime this year.

I think you might be a little late on that one. Firepower came out on the 9th of March.

[JoshL]

While there are bands that I like that do the same things over and over, I much prefer a band that changes and grows. Some of my favorite bands sound different from track to track on the same album! The consequence of that is, sometimes my favorite bands have lots of songs I don't like, and sometimes my favorite albums have lots of songs I don't like, but if I'm with them 70% of the time, that makes me happy! Sometimes I like it when a band even subverts one of the defining characteristics. Good example: I'm a huge fan of synthpop band Erasure. They just released their second acoustic album. The first was greatest hits done country (it was surprisingly good). The second was their most recent album, in full, reinterpreted with a chamber ensemble. Also good, less of a surprise.

And back on metal, some of my favorite metal bands are those that have shifted styles drastically.

[grimbold]

So I'm somehow only just listening to Hanoi Rocks...

this is spectacular. Why aren't they the biggest glam band ever? Asides yknow... Vince Neil

[Vinyadan]

Cringe in horror to the album cover, the album title, the song title, the power metal, then ramp up the volume, and start headbanging!

[8BitNinja]

So Kamelot is coming to Arizona soon, and there's a good chance I'll be going.

However, the thing that sold me on the idea was the fact that Battle Beast is going to be opening. I've only heard around 2 or 3 songs from Kamelot, both of them from their newest album. So to get an idea of what they are like, can any of you guys please recommend a set of 5-10 songs that would most define Kamelot? I'm not going to exclusively listen to those songs, I'd just like a good starting point.

[Lord of Gifts]

So Kamelot is coming to Arizona soon, and there's a good chance I'll be going.

However, the thing that sold me on the idea was the fact that Battle Beast is going to be opening. I've only heard around 2 or 3 songs from Kamelot, both of them from their newest album. So to get an idea of what they are like, can any of you guys please recommend a set of 5-10 songs that would most define Kamelot? I'm not going to exclusively listen to those songs, I'd just like a good starting point.

Fair disclosure, I'm mostly only really familiar with Kamelot's stuff from the early 2000s, so this list might not be representative of their later stuff. That said, recommendations:

• March of Mephisto
• When the Lights Are Down
• The Haunting (Somewhere in Time)
• The Black Halo
• Memento Mori
• The Edge of Paradise
• Descent of the Archangel
• Nights of Arabia

[dps]

I think you might be a little late on that one. Firepower came out on the 9th of March.

Is it any good?

[8BitNinja]

Fair disclosure, I'm mostly only really familiar with Kamelot's stuff from the early 2000s, so this list might not be representative of their later stuff. That said, recommendations:

• March of Mephisto
• When the Lights Are Down
• The Haunting (Somewhere in Time)
• The Black Halo
• Memento Mori
• The Edge of Paradise
• Descent of the Archangel
• Nights of Arabia

Thank you for this. I'll be getting to studying

[WhamBamSam]

Is it any good?

Yes, it's very good. The general internet consensus seems to be that it's their best since Painkiller, and I've seen it reviewed very positively by people whose views on Angel of Retribution and Redeemer of Souls are quite negative. As someone who has a bit of a soft spot for Angel, I'm not sure how it stacks up for me just yet, but it's certainly a step up from Redeemer, which is itself an album I wasn't as down on as some.

[Dada]

Fair disclosure, I'm mostly only really familiar with Kamelot's stuff from the early 2000s, so this list might not be representative of their later stuff. That said, recommendations:

• March of Mephisto
• When the Lights Are Down
• The Haunting (Somewhere in Time)
• The Black Halo
• Memento Mori
• The Edge of Paradise
• Descent of the Archangel
• Nights of Arabia

I'll add Center of the Universe to the list as mandatory listening.

[GimpNugs]

So Kamelot is coming to Arizona soon, and there's a good chance I'll be going.

However, the thing that sold me on the idea was the fact that Battle Beast is going to be opening. I've only heard around 2 or 3 songs from Kamelot, both of them from their newest album. So to get an idea of what they are like, can any of you guys please recommend a set of 5-10 songs that would most define Kamelot? I'm not going to exclusively listen to those songs, I'd just like a good starting point.

So, I'm kinda a Kamelot fanboy you could say. The suggestions given already are pretty good for their older stuff, though they did miss out on Forever, which I would say is easily their most popular song, and is definitely mandatory listening. If they don't play it live, there would probably be a riot.

From their newer stuff (not including The Shadow Theory. That whole album is free reign), they're likely to play the following live:
Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)
Torn
Insomnia
Veil of Elysium
Revolution

[8BitNinja]

I'll add Center of the Universe to the list as mandatory listening.

So, I'm kinda a Kamelot fanboy you could say. The suggestions given already are pretty good for their older stuff, though they did miss out on Forever, which I would say is easily their most popular song, and is definitely mandatory listening. If they don't play it live, there would probably be a riot.

From their newer stuff (not including The Shadow Theory. That whole album is free reign), they're likely to play the following live:
Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)
Torn
Insomnia
Veil of Elysium
Revolution

Thank you for this. Now thanks to you I'll be studied up for May

[JamesVail]

My favorite album of 2017, Satanic Slavery by Necrowretch. Black/thrash that just shreds the whole time. I love it.

[grimbold]

My favorite album of 2017, Satanic Slavery by Necrowretch. Black/thrash that just shreds the whole time. I love it.

It's funny you bring this up. I remember years ago trying to get out of my high school graduation ceremony so I could see them. Still mad about it!

[Feytalist]

So I've been checking upcoming release lists and got a couple of pleasant surprises didn't know half of these bands were releasing.

Biggest surprise is Witch Mountain. Wasn't aware of that at all. But also Wolvhammer (about time), Skogen, and a bit later on Hoth.

Gonna be a good month.

[8BitNinja]

Last night from when I post this, I saw Battle Beast, Delain, and Kamelot. This is what I thought of them

Battle Beast: I might be biased, being a fan of Battle Beast, but I thought they were amazing. From beginning to end, they kept the crowd excited and engaged. For each song, they also did something to both hint at it and hype up the crowd for it, which was cool. I was also able to meet Nora afterwards and I was able to get a picture with her, which was cool. I thought they were the best act.

Delain: I had no previous exposure to Delain, but this concert gave an amazing first impression. Although I thought that a few of their songs were okay, these were definitely made up for with their exceptional tracks. In my opinion, the best song they played was either Fire with Fire or Hurricane. While I still thought they were great, I think Delain was the "worst" (I hate using this word with them, since they were still really good) of the three acts.

Kamelot: Kamelot was an amazing way to finish the evening. Not only did they play incredibly well, but they were constantly doing things to keep the crowd engaged. They also had a good number of guests on stage with them, such as the lead singers of both Delain and Once Human. If I listened to them enough to know the lyrics, I would definitely have been singing along to every song.

Overall: This concert was amazing, If they are about to be in town wherever you are, I definitely suggest that you go. It is worth every cent of the ticket you bought for it.

[grimbold]

So I've been checking upcoming release lists and got a couple of pleasant surprises didn't know half of these bands were releasing.

Biggest surprise is Witch Mountain. Wasn't aware of that at all. But also Wolvhammer (about time), Skogen, and a bit later on Hoth.

Gonna be a good month.

Witch Mountain are like my family
I am so goddamn stoked for that album


They even have a Free cover! (Also I'm in the liner notes )

[Marillion]

I saw Godspeed You! Black Emperor last night and let me tell you, they were incredible. Absolutely worth the 6 hour round trip. I think everyone owes it to themselves to see them live.

[JoshL]

I saw Godspeed You! Black Emperor last night and let me tell you, they were incredible. Absolutely worth the 6 hour round trip. I think everyone owes it to themselves to see them live.

I missed this tour because budget and I've seen them a bunch of times, but wholeheartedly second this. They are amazing live, and everyone should catch them if they can!

I am, however, going to catch Bad Religion tomorrow finally (and leave before I have to listen to any NOFX) and Chrome next weekend. So excited about both of those! And I'm opening for an "atmospheric black metal" band in July...I still don't get why they aren't just dark ambient. They have no drums, no guitar riffs, no vocals...in what way is this metal? Also, in what way is this NOT dark ambient, which has been an established genre for 40 years or so?

*old guy grumbling*

[grimbold]

I'm opening for an "atmospheric black metal" band in July...I still don't get why they aren't just dark ambient. They have no drums, no guitar riffs, no vocals...in what way is this metal? Also, in what way is this NOT dark ambient, which has been an established genre for 40 years or so?

*old guy grumbling*

This keeps me up at night